Finding Each Other
by SpeedlesChic
Summary: Lt. Horatio Caine learns that he has a long lost child somewhere in this world; A young woman goes in search of the father she never knew after her mother gave her up for adoption. Meanwhile Horatio's brother fights for his life.
1. Chaos

"I need more towels! The bleeding isn't stopping!" yelled senior resident nurse, Lauren Raburn. She sat on top of the dying patient as he was being wheeled into the emergency room. Two Miami-Dade police officers, a drug dealer, and an innocent bystander had been shot in a drug raid gone wrong. "I need more towels please!" Lauren shouted again.

"I got some! I got some," another senior resident nurse, Margaret Collins yelled running alongside the gurney. Lauren grabbed them immediately and discarded the blood soaked ones. She applied pressure to the police officer's several gunshot wounds. His fire red hair gave him away. "Lt. Caine, can you hear me?" He didn't respond. "Lt. Caine! If you can hear me you're in the hospital. You've been shot. Hang in there for me, okay. Hang in there!"

Chief of staff, Dr. Andrea Fisch was waiting at entrance to the already prepped operating room when Lauren and several other nurses arrived. Dr. Fisch was ready to go. "What do have here?" she asked. A male nurse named, Derek Brown filled her in on what had happened.

Lt. Caine was wheeled into the operating room. Dr. Fisch turned to Lauren and said, "Raburn, we got it from here. Go help the others out there. If I need you I'll let you know." Lauren nodded and did as she was told.

Back out by the Nurse's Station, the other police officer was being wheeled in and worked on, followed by the innocent bystander and the drug dealer. Lauren saw that a group of trauma nurses had everything under control with the bystander and drug dealer. She turned and saw chaos with the police officer, who had been severely injured; a bullet wound to the heart. Blood kept pouring out of him. "Hey you guys need an extra pair of hands?" Lauren asked rushing over.

ER doctor, Dr. Frank Campbell looked at her worriedly. "We need to get this bleeding under control. He's going into cardiac arrest," he said frantically. He motioned for Lauren to get on top of the office like she had been with Lt. Horatio Caine.

Chaos had overtaken the emergency room. The white tiled floor had been turned a bright shade of red as the trauma team worked vigorously on the police officer; nothing seemed to be helping. "I need more towels please! NOW!" Lauren shouted. The officer looked familiar to her with the reddish-brown hair, and somewhat pale skin, but that could have been due to the enormous amount of blood he had lost. Lauren didn't have time to think. She needed to focus on saving the man's life.

Another operating room had already been prepped when the team arrived. "Raburn get off now so we can get right in," instructed Dr. Campbell. Lauren slid off as fast as she could, and in the process of doing so she almost got her foot caught in the gurney; one of the nurses caught her just before she fell to the floor. She apologized and moved out of the way.

Lauren could no longer see the police officer she had just been working on, but his image stayed in her mind. She had seen him before. He came in with Lt. Caine, but not often. 'He was on some kind of special task force,' Lauren said to herself. She had seen him just a couple weeks ago. The only name she could think of was Speedle, but it wasn't him. Speedle had dark somewhat curly hair and was scruffy - she smiled to herself. This man was far from that. 'Oh my god!' she thought. 'It's Lt. Caine's brother!' Her team didn't have a option. He must be saved.

* * *

A rush of five people had come running into the emergency room. All but one had been a police officer. The group of people searched for someone, anyone to talk to. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what looked like enough blood to fill a small pond.

Snapping out of his trance CSI Tim 'Speed' Speedle asked to no one in particular, "Can someone tell me where Lt. Caine and Detective Caine are?" No one said anything. "Hello, I asked a damn question!" Speed was beginning to get frustrated. Dr. Alexx Woods, Miami-Dade's Medical Examiner rested a calming hand on the frustrated CSI. A young nurse walked by and he gently grabbed her arm. "Miss, can you please tell me how Lt. Caine and Detective Caine are?"

Startled by his actions, the young nurse said, "No I'm sorry, officer. I don't know anything. I just got here." Speed let her go and apologized.

Homicide Detective, Yelina Salas was in a world of her own. Not only does she work with Horatio Caine and Raymond Caine, but they were also family; Raymond Caine, her husband and Horatio Caine, her brother-in-law. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't think, speak, or move. The blood she was looking at worried her. Anyone who had lost that much blood surely wouldn't survive.

After a few minutes had passed, Lauren Raburn appeared in the hallway; she was covered in blood. The five Miami-Dade employees spotted her, and they knew she would know something.

CSI Calleigh Duquesne walked forward to question, Lauren. "Excuse me miss, I'm Calleigh Duquesne. I'm with Miami-Dade PD. Is there anything you can tell us about the two officers that were brought here?"

Still startled from her discovery Lauren said, "Uh, yeah… um, they're being worked on as we speak."

"Are they going to make it?" chimed in CSI Eric Delko.

"That's in the hands of the staff and God. The best thing you can do right now is wait out in the waiting area, and pray like you've never prayed before. If you'll excuse me I need to go get cleaned off. I'll keep you all updated as best I can… I promise." The five thanked Lauren and went their separate ways.


	2. An Uncertain Future

Several hours had passed and they still hadn't heard anything or even seen a familiar nurse or doctor. They were all getting worried, and began to prepare themselves for the worst. Doctors and nurses passed Speed, Yelina, Calleigh, Alexx, and Eric in the ER waiting room. No one said a word. No one knew what to say. All they could think about was Horatio and Raymond Caine.

Alexx went and sat next to Yelina, who was again in her own world. Her whole family could fall apart at any moment. Just as Alexx was about to speak, the nurse they had spoken to earlier entered the waiting room. She looked physically and emotionally drained of all energy. Yelina stood up; Lauren spotted her and walked over to the nervous group of Miami-Dade employees.

"Um… I've never really done this before by myself but, I'm back to give you guys an update on Lt. Caine and Detective Caine," Lauren said softly.

"Are they okay? Are they going to make it?" Yelina quickly asked.

"Your Lieutenant just came out of surgery, and will make a full recovery, in time. He suffered some minor internal bleeding, but my team managed to stop it. They're wheeling him into an ICU room for the night. That's all I really know right now. The doctor will be out in a few short minutes to explain everything."

"What about my husband, Raymond Caine?" Yelina asked.  
Lauren's eyes went wide with shock. She wasn't aware that Raymond Caine had been married to a police officer. She swallowed hard and was finding it difficult to speak, but she finally managed to explain Raymond's present condition, "He's alive, as of right now. A bullet nicked an artery in your husband's chest. He lost an enormous amount of blood. They had a hard time stopping it. But what matters is they did. He is stable, but in serious condition… I-I don't know if he's going to make it. I'm sorry, Mrs. Caine," Lauren said to Yelina.

Yelina began to feel dizzy and weak in the knees. This couldn't be happening. Her worst fear was about to come true. Little Ray wasn't going to have a father and she was going to lose her husband.

Alexx caught her just in time and escorted her to the nearest chair. Speed stepped forward and asked, "Can we go see Lt. Caine?"

"Um… I'm not sure at the moment. I'm just the messenger, but from what I see they aren't allowing visitors at the moment. I think they just want him to rest for a few minutes and make sure they have in fact stopped the bleeding, I'm sorry Officer Speedle."

"No, it's okay. I understand," Speed said gently touching the side of Lauren's arm; a cold chill ran down both their spines. "And you can call me Tim."

Lauren smiled. "Okay… Tim. I'm going to go check on your Lieutenant right now, and the doctor should be out shortly. In fact I can see Dr. Fisch coming right now." Speedle thanked her and she left the room.

Upon seeing her senior resident nurse, Dr. Fisch informed Lauren she would be Lt. Caine's nurse during his stay at Miami General. "He's in room 177. Derek will fill you in on what's going on."

"Okay, sure thing Doc. Officer Speedle and his colleagues are waiting for you in the waiting room. Also, if you have any information on Detective Caine that would be great. His wife is in there," Lauren said as she made her way down to room 177.

Dr. Fisch entered the waiting room with a bunch of waiting eyes looking back at her. "Are you all here for Lt. Caine and Detective Caine?" she asked looking around the room. They were the only people in there at the moment. They all nodded their heads. "Okay. Nurse Raburn, just informed me she spoke to you briefly about each of their conditions." They all nodded their heads again. Dr. Fisch continued, "Lt. Caine is doing just fine and will make a full recovery, but he's going to need to take it easy for a while. My team is wheeling him into his room as we speak, and you can go see him shortly. We want to keep him in ICU for a little just to make sure we have in fact stopped all the internal bleeding. We also recovered the bullet that was lodge in his stomach if you would like that. I can get Nurse Raburn to bring it to you. Also, she will be assigned to both Lt. Caine and Det. Caine the remainder of their hospital stay here at, Miami General." Hearing that Nurse Raburn would be taking care of Horatio and Ray during their stay in the hospital brought some relief to Speedle. There was just something about her that was so comforting and so gentle. She reminded him of Horatio in some ways.

"What about Raymond Caine? Nurse Raburn said his condition was grave," Yelina asked hoping for some good news on her husband.

Dr. Fisch looked at Yelina with sad eyes. "Detective Caine is in very serious condition ma'am. Dr. Campbell said it is unlikely he'll make it through the night, which means you should pay your last respects as soon as you can. I am truly and deeply sorry. We can call a priest in to give him his last words if you choose to do so, Father O' Malley is a wonderful man."

Yelina lost it. The confirmation of her worst fears had come true. Her family was falling apart. She would soon be a widow and her son, Ray Jr. would be fatherless. Alexx was right there by her side; she was the only one who could move. Everyone else was in shock and trying to digest everything. Alexx was married with two kids of her own. If anything ever happened to them she wouldn't know what to do; she wouldn't know how to move on with her life; she couldn't imagine how Yelina would keep her chin up.

Eric Delko walked forward and asked emotionally, "Are you sure? I mean is there and possibility he can survive? He's got a wife," he pointed to Yelina. He continued, "And a ten year old son."

Dr. Fisch looked at each Miami-Dade employee intently and said, "Detective Caine lost a tremendous amount of blood. So much so that, Dr. Campbell had to inject plasma blood into him. He couldn't make any of his own. His internal organs have been overworked…" Everyone in the room began to tear up. "But I believe that there's always a chance someone can survive no matter what their condition is. I will keep Detective Caine in my prayers. You are in very good hands with Nurse Raburn. She is one of my best. She will do everything possible." Dr. Fisch's pager went off. "I'm sorry but I have to go. I'm needed in the OR room. If you all need anything don't hesitate to ask for myself or Dr. Campbell or even Nurse Raburn. We are here for you." With that Dr. Fisch left the room leaving the colleagues of Lt. Caine and Detective Caine to their thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Lauren was about to enter Horatio's room when Dr. Fisch called her over. She wanted to update her on Detective Caine's condition, and inform her she would be his full-time nurse. "They're bringing Detective Caine into his room right now. He's in very critical condition so I want you to focus more of your attention on him. I'm going to have another nurse help you with Lt. Caine."

"Okay, just come and get me when everything is all set."

"Dr. Campbell will. I have an emergency call to attend to… thanks Lauren," she said as she ran off down the hallway.

As Lauren walked into Horatio's room, she thought to herself, 'this is going to be a long night.' Seeing Horatio's chart hanging from the foot of his bed she grabbed it and examined the information. "Lt. Horatio Caine… I never thought I would see you in a hospital bed. I guess you really are human," Lauren said when she saw his eyes flutter open.

Horatio chuckled, if that's what you would call it. It was more along the lines of just a smile and a loud exhale. "Raymond," he rasped just below a whisper. He wasn't sure if Lauren heard him or not so he spoke again, "Nurse Raburn… my brother, Raymond Caine."

Lauren looked up from the medical file. She furrowed her brows and said, "Lt. Caine, I've never lied to you in the past so I'm not going to start now. Your brother, Raymond, is in very serious condition. Dr. Campbell did the best he could do. Now it's up to God and your brother. If you are a praying man, do it. Do it as often and as much as you can."

Horatio held back his tears. "Yelina Salas." He swallowed hard trying to catch his breath.

"I know, Lt. Caine. They only thing you need to worry about right now is getting better. I don't want to see you roaming the halls looking for your brother or anyone else." He didn't say anything. "I mean it, Lt. Caine. Your sister-in-law may lose her husband. She doesn't need to lose you too."

Her bright blue eyes pierced his bright blue eyes. Lauren was right. He needed his rest. If in fact they lost Raymond he would have to be there for Yelina and Ray Jr. "Okay… but you have to call me, Horatio."

Lauren smiled. "Done." She looked out into the hallway and saw Dr. Campbell coming. "I see Dr. Campbell coming. I'm going to go talk to him. Is there anything I can get you?" He shook his head no. "Your pain level is okay then because I can get you some-"  
Horatio stopped her. "No Miss Raburn. I'm fine for now."

"Okay." She smiled back at Horatio and left his hospital room.

He stopped her again. "Miss Raburn?"

"Yes?"

"When you see the nurse taking care of my brother, tell him or her that he has a son and wife he needs to fight for." Lauren said she would and left Horatio's room. Dr. Campbell updated Lauren on Detective Caine's condition, and informed her of his room number. Nothing had changed, which was good news.

On her way to Detective Caine's room, she remembered what Horatio had said, 'When you see the nurse taking care of my brother, tell him or her that he has a son and wife he needs to fight for.' What he said hit her hard. Everyone should be able to have their real parents in their lives. Lauren sure wish she had.


	4. Chapter 4

Detective Raymond Caine, lay motionless in his hospital room as Margaret and Derek got him settled. Lauren knocked softly on the door and waited for one of them to respond. She immediately felt an emotional knot creep into her throat. Why, she didn't know.

Pushing those feelings aside, Lauren made her way into Detective Caine's hospital room when she got the go-ahead from Margaret. "Hey guys. Is he all settled in now?"

"Yep. I'm just writing down his vitals and making a few general notes for you," Margaret said with a half smile.

"Okay, thanks." Lauren paused a moment to look at her patient. He and Horatio really did look alike, except Raymond's hair was darker than Horatio's. "How's he doing?"

"No change. He's stable now, but is still in critical condition. The doc doesn't know if he'll make it through the night, but if he does there still isn't a good chance of survival," Derek said with a sigh.

"Derek, come on. Think positive. He's got a wife and son he needs to fight for, and not to mention his brother, Lt. Caine," Lauren said giving him a look.

"Raburn, you really like to sugar-coat things don't you. The man lost a lot of blood. He was revived several times during surgery. Not too many people make it through the night that are in a situation like his," Derek said.

"I'm not sugar-coating anything, Derek. I know he has a slim chance of surviving. I'm just thinking positive. Aren't I allowed to do that?"

Margaret stepped in. She didn't think it was wise to argue in front of a patient, awake or not. "Guys, come on. Stop it." Both Lauren and Derek glared at one another. "Here, Lauren." Margaret handed Lauren, Raymond's medical file. "Come on, Derek. Let's go. We have people waiting in the emergency room who need us."

Lauren watched them leave before she turned to her patient. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Detective Caine. I know I shouldn't get like that around patients. The guy makes my skin boil." Lauren chuckled a little. "I should have never gone on that date with him… if you could call it a date."

Lauren grabbed a chair, and sat down next to Raymond's hospital bed. She opened his file and began to study it. There wasn't anything that shocked her except the amount of blood he was given. He was given nine pints of blood. On average, the human body can hold ten to twelve pints of blood. "Wow," was all Lauren said as she closed his medical file.

Turning her attention to Raymond, Lauren said, "Your brother, Lt. Caine is out of surgery too. He's going to be alright. He suffered a gunshot wound to the lower stomach. I thought you might like to hear that." She paused a moment and looked at him. He looked too pale and fragile. She was even afraid to touch him. "You know, Lt. Caine told me something before I left his room. He wanted me to tell you, you have to fight to survive because you have a wife and a son to fight for. That's a pretty big reason to fight, Detective Caine." She paused again as if waiting for him to respond, but nothing happened.

The sound of Lauren's pager broke the silence. She grabbed the gadget and looked at it. Derek had paged her. He told her Raymond's wife is asking about him, and Lt. Caine's co-workers were wondering about their boss. "I'll be back, Detective Caine, and I'll have your wife with me… remember fight to back for them. They need you." Lauren set his medical chart in the little pocket at the end of the hospital bed, and headed out to the waiting room. She was hoping to avoid Derek at all costs.


	5. Chapter 5

Horatio ran his fingers over a small tattered wallet sized photo of a baby. He couldn't tell if the baby was a boy or a girl because the baby had a white hat on, but it didn't matter. The newborn in the photo was his child. A child he didn't know he had until after he/she was born, and put up for adoption. Horatio didn't know how, the woman he had loved so much, could do this to him?

Horatio watched the sun sink into the horizon. It'd been twenty-five years since he had found out he had a child. He stared intently at the old photo. He had been staring at it for weeks trying to figure out if his child was a boy or a girl. Horatio wondered where he/she was; he wondered if his child was married; he wondered if his child had children of their own. There were so many questions running through his head.

His eyes moved to his child's eyes. They were just like his, a bright deep blue color. Horatio's eyes moved to his child's ear. He noticed just behind the ear was a tiny little birthmark. He smiled.

Taking one last look at the photo of his child, and after twenty-five years, Horatio finally determined that he had a daughter. Her long beautiful eyelashes could only belong to a little girl. Yes, boys sometimes had long and feminine looking eyelashes, but these could only belong to a girl.

A single tear rolled down Horatio's cheek. He had a daughter, and he was determined to find her.

"I have a girl," Horatio said as he woke up from his dream. He looked around and noticed this wasn't his place. It was far from his place. The walls were stark white, and the room smelled of antiseptic. He was in the hospital.

"Horatio? Are you okay?" Lauren asked looking up from his chart.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What time is it?" Horatio asked as he attempted to pull himself in a sitting posting, but the pain was too much.

Lauren set his chart down and helped him sit up. She wondered what he was dreaming about. She looked at her watch and said, "It is 3:00AM exactly. Sounded like you were dreaming. Was it a good one?"

"Thanks," Horatio said a little out of breath after Lauren helped him into a sitting position. "Uh, yeah I think so. I hope so."

Lauren smiled. "You want to talk about it? I've been told I'm a great listener."

Horatio smiled back. "No not really. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, but if you ever need to talk I'm here. Anyway, how are you feeling? You looked like you were in some pain a minute ago."

Now that Horatio was in a comfortable position his pain level had subsided to a two. "I'm good now. Thank you."

"Okay. Well, everything else looks good. I checked you wound while you were sleeping, and that looks good too. Is there anything I can get you?"

Horatio thought for a moment then said, "Is my team still here?"

"Officer Speedle is still here, and your sister-in-law is still here, but she's with your brother, who is actually doing really well considering what has happened to him. He's holding his own very well."

Horatio felt some of the worry leave him. It was good to hear that his brother was doing a little better.

"Can you get Yelina for me? I need to talk to her about something." He needed to tell her about his dream. She was the only person that knew about his long lost child other than his brother.

"Yeah. I'll go get her. Anything else?"

"Go tell him to go home. He doesn't need to stay here. He's no help of he can't stay awake." Lauren nodded and left the room.

* * *

Lauren was making her way to the waiting room when she ran into Yelina. "Oh, Detective Salas! I was about to come get you. Horatio is asking for you. I think he has something important to tell you," Lauren said.

"Oh. Do you know what it's about?" Yelina asked.

Lauren shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it has to do with a dream he had. He woke up saying, 'I have a girl' but wouldn't say anymore."

Yelina's eyes went wide. She knew exactly what Horatio was talking about. She thanked Lauren and quickly walked to her brother-in-law's hospital room. Lauren continued on to the waiting room.

When she walked in, she noticed Speed sitting on one of the small sofas. He was the only one in the waiting room. His arms were folded a crossed his chest, and his mouth was slightly parted. Lauren smiled to herself. He looked cute. Lauren started to wonder if he had a girlfriend or a wife. She found herself physically attracted to him. 'He's probably got a lady in his life. I mean… Stop it, Lauren,' she said to herself.

Lauren shook her feelings aside and sat down next to Speed. She nudged him gently and said, "Tim, wake up." Speed slowly opened his eyes and uncrossed his arms. He looked at Lauren.

"What?" he said.

Lauren let out a small laugh. "Go home, Tim. You're at the hospital. Don't you remember?" She said placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I fell asleep," Speed said leaning forward and rubbing his hands over his face. Lauren smiled. "Your boss is doing well. He'll probably be able to go him in a few days. Detective Caine is holding his own right now. I have high hopes he'll walk out of this hospital at some point. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

"That's good."

"Yeah, that's very good. Anyway, your boss wanted me to tell you to go home. He said you're not helping anyone if you're passed out on these horribly uncomfortable waiting room sofas."

It was Speed's turn to laugh. "I don't think he said it that way, but you're right they are horrible uncomfortable. My neck and back are killing me."

Lauren placed her hand on Speed's back and said, "Go home and get some sleep. I'm leaving in a few minutes. I'm just waiting on the next nurse. She just arrived."

Speed sighed. "Yeah… I would go home, but I have no way of getting there. My co-workers took the hummer. I thought I'd be staying here all night. My motorcycle is at the crime lab."

Lauren arched her eyebrows. 'He rides a motorcycle?' she said to herself.

"So I kinda have to stay here. I'm definitely not walking back to the lab."

Lauren got an idea. "Well… if you're okay with it, I could drive you back to the lab."

Speed smiled. "Thanks, but that's okay. You probably just want to get home after everything that's happened tonight."

"No, really I don't mind. My apartment is on the way. Plus I think I'm going to stop at that twenty-four hour diner. I'm starving, and my roommate and I don't have any food in our fridge."

Speed looked at Lauren and smiled. He couldn't help but look at her bright blue eyes. They reminded him of Horatio's. "I would appreciate that. I'm so tired. Food sounds good too." The two started at each other for a moment the Speed continued, "I have an idea. How about you drive, and I'll pay for our 3:00AM dinner."

"Deal! Let me go check on some things, and I'll meet you back out here."

"Awesome."

Lauren got up from her seat and Speed watched her disappear as she left the waiting room. He couldn't help but smile to himself.


End file.
